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Language Family

Yawa-Saweru

New Guinea and Pacific Language Families

The Yawa-Saweru, or Yapen, languages (Wikipedia titles the article Yawa languages) are a small family of two closely related Papuan languages, Yawa and Saweru, spoken on central Yapen Island and nearby islets in Cenderawasih Bay, Indonesian Papua. Because of their strong similarity the two are sometimes considered divergent dialects of a single language rather than separate members of a family. Yawa proper had about 6,000 speakers in 1987, while Saweru is moribund, spoken by roughly 150 people of an ethnic population of 300.

Facts
Region
central Yapen Island and nearby islets, Cenderawasih Bay, Indonesian Papua 1
Region
Spoken on central Yapen Island and nearby islets in Cenderawasih Bay, Indonesian Papua. 1
Proto-Language Status
Foley (2018) classifies Yawa as an independent language family rather than part of West Papuan. Yawa and Saweru are similar enough that some treat them as dialects of a single language, which would then be a language isolate. 1
Partially Attested
Speaker Count
6000 1
Yawa proper had 6000 speakers in 1987; Saweru, the family's other member, is separately reported as moribund with about 150 speakers out of an ethnic group of 300, not included in this figure.
In the Other Atlases
  • Also in Geography Atlas: Asia, found in there.
  • Also in Geography Atlas: Indonesia, found in there.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Yawa Languages (Family Article)
Wikipedia
  • Lead section, second paragraph
    They are spoken on central Yapen Island and nearby islets, in Cenderawasih Bay, Indonesian Papua, which they share with the Austronesian Yapen languages.
  • Classification section, final paragraph
    Foley (2018) classifies Yawa separately as an independent language family.
  • Third paragraph, speaker population statement
    Yawa proper had 6000 speakers in 1987.
  • Introduction
    spoken on central Yapen Island and nearby islets, in Cenderawasih Bay, Indonesian Papua.
View the Source
Wikidata: Yawa-Saweru
Wikidata Q3217545, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source
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